Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
